Stardust costume designer interview: The difficulty with dressing David Bowie Harriet Hall
, Gabriel Range’s new David Bowie biopic, we are finally granted a glimpse of the moment the trailer promised us: Ziggy Stardust on stage in all his full glam rock glory. With the unmistakable choppy flame-hued mullet and electric blue Kansai Yamamoto-inspired cape, Johnny Flynn, who plays the musician, has transformed into Bowie the icon.
Stardust was made without the approval of Bowie’s estate and as a result, is not to him what
Bohemian Rhapsody or
Rocketman were to their respective leading men. Instead, the film is a snapshot of Bowie’s 1971 US tour, in which the singer attempts to build interest in his third studio album
Directed by Gabriel Range.
Starring Johnny Flynn, Jena Malone, Marc Maron, Anthony Flanagan, Lara Heller, Roanna Cochrane, Jorja Cadence, Brendan J. Rowland, and Olivia Carruthers.
SYNOPSIS:
David Bowie, two years on from his breakthrough record, embarks on his first tour of the US in 1971 – a trip that helped inspire the creation of his iconic alter ego, Ziggy Stardust.
After
Bohemian Rhapsody, the Oscar-winning Queen-athon that proved once again the disparity that exists between commercial success and critical reaction, one might be forgiven for presuming the appetite for big name, elaborate wig-and-veneers rock’n’roll biopics had been all but satisfied. Perhaps the only subject to tempt us back for another helping, however, would be someone like David Bowie, an artist with a seemingly chameleonic capacity for reinvention whose songs and stagecraft have long been celebrated for their vision, innovation and influence.
In Stardust, Johnny Flynn is a tuneless insult to David Bowie’s memory
1/5
This flatly-acted, thinly-written biopic has none of the Thin White Duke’s songs, and none of his charisma, style or sensual appeal either
Cracked actor: Johnny Flynn is as unconvincing a David Bowie as you could ever hope to see
Dir: Gabriel Range. Cast: Johnny Flynn, Marc Maron, Jena Malone, Derek Moran, Anthony Flanagan. 15 cert, 109 mins.
An entire 17 minutes of Stardust has elapsed before the film guiltily shows its hand. It’s 1971, and the young David Bowie (Johnny Flynn) has flown to America to plug his latest album, The Man Who Sold the World, in the hope of giving his promising but stalled career a transatlantic boost.
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